NEWS RELEASE
June 8, 2016, SAN DIEGO – Last night, the Presidential Primary Election resulted in many exciting and hard fought wins for the San Diego Building Trades Unions!
The San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council won 72% of its endorsed races.
“Our endorsed candidates strongly support working families, local hire policies, job creation, and real investments in our communities. We are proud of our outstanding election victories,” said Tom Lemmon, Business Manager of the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council.
Priority campaign wins for Building Trades include:
- Barbara Bry for San Diego City Council, District 1
- Chris Ward for San Diego City Council, District 3
- Guadalupe Gonzalez for San Diego County Board of Education, District 2
- Yes on Proposition I – Raise the Wage with 5 Days of Earned Sick Leave
Hundreds of members belonging to the affiliated unions of the Building Trades Council clocked countless volunteer hours and logged hundreds of miles to elect progressive candidates who will work to ensure every employee has access to a fair wage, healthcare, and retirement benefits so that he or she can support a family.
“Approximately 40% of ballots remain to be counted, and we’re confident that our wins will increase as votes are tabulated over the next few days,” added Lemmon.
Carol Kim, Director of Community Engagement for the Building Trades Council said, “The Building Trades Unions congratulate Barbara Bry and Councilmember-Elect Chris Ward – our priority candidates who will ensure the San Diego City Council continues to advocate for working families. We also offer our sincere gratitude and congratulations to our community partners – the Alliance San Diego Mobilization Fund, CPI, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council – in passing Proposition I – the ballot initiative to raise wages with earned sick leave. Together, we conducted an expansive grassroots outreach effort that resulted in more community voices going to the ballot box in support of working families.”
Other campaign wins for Building Trades include:
- Juan Vargas for the 51st Congressional District
- Toni Atkins for the 39th State Senate District
- Todd Gloria for the 78th Assembly District
- Shirley Weber Ph.D. for the 79th Assembly District
- Lorena Gonzalez for the 80th Assembly District
- Rick Shea for San Diego County Board of Education, District 5
- Mara Elliot for San Diego City Attorney
- Ricardo Flores and Georgette Gomez for SD City Council, District 9
- Mary Graham for San Diego Community College, District D
- Elena Adams for Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College (advances to General Election)
- John Lee Evans for San Diego Unified School District, District A
- Richard Barrera for San Diego Unified School District, District D
